Curtain support



Feb. 9 1926.

G. A. EFFORD. ET AL CURTAIN SUPPORT 2 Shets-Sheet 1 Filed August 24,1923 M Wall 22 Int/6711515.-

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G. A. EFFORD ET AL Feb. 9 1926.

CURTAI N SUPPORT Filed August 24, 1923 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Ora/o0 flEfford,

0 5 h C L ments in Curtain Supports, of which the Patented F ch, 9,1926. I

UNITED, STATES PATENT, OFFICE;

amen A. nn'onn AND mans s. nmcxson, or 'cnrcaeo, rumors, AssiGNoas, BYMESNE assremanms, 'ro nnnann r.. naann'r'r, or masoncm, IOWA.

CURTAIN SUPPORT.

Application filed Augnat M, 1923. Serial No. 659,048.

7 '0 all whom it may concern:

Be it known that we, GRACE A. Erronn and NELS S. EmoKsoN, citizens ofthe United States, residing at Chicago, in .the county of Cook andStateof lllinois, have invented certain new and useful Improvefollowingis a specification.

' This. invention relates to curtain supportsof the hinged'or swingingtype such as is typically illustrated in Letters Patent to Grace A.Efi'ord No. 1,435,110 dated N ovember 7,1922.

One object ofv the present invention is to provide a curtain support ofthe hinged, outwardly swinging type, wherein the arm or" rodwhichsupportsthe curtain will always be maintained in a truehorizontalpositionand downward bending or sagging of the same, whichpresents an. unsightly appearance, will be avoided; this beingparticularly desirable in curtain supports comprising a pair of swingingrods or arms hinged to the respective sides of the window casing and attheir inner ends meeting at the transverse center of the window casing.An-

other object of the invention, ancillary to the above-stated object, isto provide an improved hinge bracket for the curtain rod with improved'means for locking the spindle or pintle of the rod in said bracket underthe downward pressure of a spring which maintains the pintle or spindle.in a true vertical position and consequently maintains the rod itself ina true horizontal position, and also holds the rod firmly in a lockingseat on the bracket. A further object of the invention is to provide animproved form of curtain rod and hinge bracket therefor by--which thebracket will be normally concealed by the curtain or an over-drape andby which also, when the curtain is swung to partly or fully openedposition, the material of the curtain will not be folded orpinchedbetween the rod and the bracket, but'can swing around more orless behind the forwardly projecting portion of the bracket.

A further object is to providean improved reinforced tubular curtain rodhaving an integral hinge-pintle. J

Other objects and attendant advantages of the inventionwill be apparentto persons skilled in the art as the same becomes better understood byreference to the following detailed description taken in connection withthe accompanyingdrawings, in which we haveillustrated several practicaland approved embodiments of our invention and wherein- 'Fig. 1 is afront elevation of the up r portion. of a window casing and wind e wequipped with our improved curtain holder;

Fig. 2 is an enlarged front elevationof bracket; I i

Fig. 3 is a vertical section through the bracket, with the rod shown atright angles to the plane ofthe window casing;

Fig. 4c is a top fiplan view of Fig. 2, with the rod broken o Fig. 5 isa perspective elevation of the bracket and hinged end of the rod;

Fig. 6 is a front elevation showing a modified form of bracket and'rod;

Fig. -7 is a top plan view of the parts shown-in Fig. 6.; f a iv Fig. 8is a perspective elevation of the bracket and hinged end of the rodshown in Figs. 6 and 7 s Fig. 9 is a top plan view ofa duplex rodadapted to support both the curtain and an overdrape in connectionwith abracket such as is shown in Figs. 6, 7 and 8; and

Fig. 10 is a perspecive elevation of the one of the rods, broken out,and its. hinge bracket and rod shown in'Fig. 9.

Referring first to Figs. 1 to 5 inclusive,

12 designates as an entirety the bracket in which the curtain'rod ishinged at its outer end, said bracket as herein shown being a metalstamping and comprising upper and. lower horizontal arms 13- and 14,respectively, a vertical "brace or strut 1 5 connecting the forward endsof the arms 13 and 14:, and outwardly'bent flanges or base plates 16which are apertured for the passage of screws 17 by which the bracket issecured to the window casing C. By reference more particularly to Figs.3, 4: and 5 it will be observed that the outer end portions of the arms13 and14, are provided with a pair of intersecting shallow depressions18 and 19 which form seats and yieldable locks for the curtainrodadjacent to' the spindle of the latter; the seats'18 engaging the rodwhen the latter is in fully closed and opened position and the seat 19engaging the rod- The rod itself is preferably a round tubular membercomprising a horizontal arm and an integraldepending pintle or spindle21 which'is snugly fitted in upper and lower bearings 22 and 23 formedin the bracket arms 13 and 14 respectively coincidentally with theintersections of the seats 18 a'nd19. The horizontal arm 20 ispreferably provided with a telescoping extension member 24, as usual inextensible curtain rods, and the outer end of this member is preferablyequipped Witha knob or button 25 having a shank 26 tightly driven intothe end of the extension member 24. The knob 25 is apertured' toreceivethe upper link of a dependingchain 27 by which the rod andcurtain may readily be swung toward and from the window.

The pintle 21 of the curtain rod extends to some distance below itsbearing 23 in the bracket and is formed on its lower end with anoutwardly swaged flange 21 which constitutes an abutment for the lowerend of a stifi' coil spring 28 that encircles the lower projecting endof the pintle and at its upper end abuts against the under side of thelower arm 14 of the bracket. This spring, which constitutes an importantfeature of the present invention, acts to draw the curtain supportingarm 20 of the rod hard down into its seat 18 or 19, thereby making thelocking action more secure, but

1 its. principal utility lies in the fact that it eifectivelychecks anyrising and sli ht tilting or canting movement of the spindle 21 in itsbearings-under the weight of the curtain rod and curtain and maintainsthe spindle vertical and consequently the curtain rod horizontal. Theupwardthrust of the spring on the lower arm of the bracket and theconsequent downward thrust of the rod on the upper arm-of the bracketplus the weight of the rod and curtain would naturally tend to bend theouter ends of the bracket arms toward each other and thus tend to roducea binding of the spindle in its bearings, but this is effectivelyresisted and prevented by the vertical brace or strut 15 which connectsthe forward ends of the two bracket arms, and which is preferably madecurved in cross-section, as shown, to afford greater resistance tobending strains than a flat strut.

It may here be noted that the formation of the locking seats in thelower arm of the bracket is not'functionally essential, but has theadvantages of enabling the bracket to be mounted either end up and in ameasure stifl'ens and strengthens the end portions of the bracket armswhich are somewhat weakened by the openings forming the spindlebearings. Where a rectangular bend is imparted to a straight tubularmetal rod such as that herein shown, it is practically impossible toavoid partial flattening of the rod and cracking of the metal at theelbow during the bending operation unless some means he provided tomaintain same has been bent to strengthen and reinforce the bend. 4

Referring to Figs. 6, 7 and 8, we have therein shown a form of bracketand rod mounting embodying the structural principles and advantagesabove described in connection with Figs. 1 to 5 inclusive, including thespring 28 for maintaining the rod in true horizontal position and thebrace or strut connecting the outer ends of the bracket arms to opposebending of the latter toward each other. In this embodiment of the in-.vention, however, the specific forms of both the bracket and the rod aresomewhat differout from those shown in Figs. 1 to 5, the

main purposes of these differences being to provide aconstructionwherein the'curtain may be so hung as to conceal the bracket andwrinkling or crimping of the outer edge portion of the upper end of thecurtain due to pinching of the same between the rod and the bracket maybe avoided. This bracket, which is preferably made as a casting,comprises a single base-plate 29 formed with upper and lower holes 30and 31 for the attaching screws and a pair of parallel upper and lowerarms comprising. forwardly extending rear portions 32 and 33 and laterally and outwardly directed extensions 32' and 33 thereof whichterminate at their free ends in forwardly projecting bearing portions 32and 33 apertured to form spindle bearings. of the rod and transverselygrooved to form locking seats 18' and 19'. The end portions 32 and 33 ofthe bracket arms are rigidly spaced and connected by the integral braceor strut 15.

34 designates the curtain rod which in this case is formed with arc'arwardly curved elbow portion 34 that is disposed in a horizontalplane and extends beyond the forward end of the bracket and terminatesin a free end portion 34 lying parallel with the main portion 34 of therod. To the lower side of the terminal portion 34 is welded or otherwisesecured the pintle 35 which has its hearings in the free ends of thebracket arms and is providedon its lower downwardly projecting end withthe swaged flange 35 forming an abutment for the lower end of the spring28.

' spirit and In this form of rod the hem or pocket-of the curtain isextended around the curved portion 34', as shown in Figs. 6 and 7,wherey the bracket is concealed by the curtain; audit is manifest thatwhen the curtain rod is swung outwardly, even to a position 180 from theclosed position shown in Fig. 1, the marginal portion of the curtainsuspended from the curved portion 34L simply swings into and occupiesthe space behind the oflfset portions 32' and 33' of the bracket arms,without being pinched and thus wrinkled or torn.

Figs. 9 and 10 illustrate, in combination with the bracket shown inFigs. 6, 7 and 8, a form of rod designed to support a curtain and a sidedrape. Here 36 designates the portion of the rod which carries thecurtain and 37 that portion from which the overdrape is suspended, theouter ends of the two rod sections being integrally joined by asemi-circular bend 38, over which the outer marginal portion of theupper end of the over-drape is carried, as clearly shown in Fig. 9. Inthis case the spindle 39'is connected to the curtain supporting section36 of the rod just inwardly of the bend 38. Manifestly the sameadvantages are preserved in this form of duplex rod as have been setforth in connection with Figs. 6, 7 and 8, the curved section 38 of .therod, when the latter is swung to partly or fully opened position,swinging around behind the offset portions of the arms of the bracketand thus avoiding pinching, wrinkling or crimping of the over-drape.

It is believed that the novel structural features, mode ofmanipulation,. and advantages of our improved curtain su(pport will beapparent from the foregoing I escription without further elaboration.Manifestly detail changes in form and construction of the parts may beresorted to without involving any departure from the principle of theinvention or sacrificing any of the advantages thereof. Hence, wereserve such variations and modifications as fall within the purview ofthe appended claims. We claim- 1. In a curtain support, the combinationof a bracket provided with a vertical bearing, a tubular curtain rodformed with a tubular vertical pintle mounted in and projecting belowsaid bearing, the lower end of said pintle having an outwardly swagedflange, and a coil compression spring encircling the projecting portionof said pintle and stepped at its lower end on said flange and at itsupper end abutting against the lower end of said bearing.

2. In a curtain support, the combination of an invertible sheet-metalbracket having an attaching base, parallel horizontal upper and lowerarms formed with alined bearing apertures and transverse rod seats intheir 7 free ends, a vertical strut member connecting the free endportionsv of said arms, a curtain rod formed with a vertical pintle:mounted in said bearing apertures and projecting below said lower arm,and a thrust 7 spring hearing at its lower end on the lower end of saidpintle and at its upper end abutting against the under side of saidlower arm.

3. In a curtain support, the combination of an invertible sheet-metalbracket having 7 an attaching base, parallel horizontal upper and lowerarms formed with alined hearing apertures and transverse rod seats intheir free ends, a verticaltransversely curved strut member integrallyconnectin the free ends of said arms forwardly of sai 4 bearingapertures, a. tubular curtain rod formed with a tubular vertical pintlemount- ,ed in said bearing apertures and projecting below said lowerarms, the lower end of said pintle having an outwardly swaged flange,and a thrust coil spring encircling the projecting portion of saidpintle an stepped at its lower end on said flange and at its upper endabutting against the under 99 side of said lower arm.

4. In a curtain support, the combination of a bracket having anattaching base and a forwardly projecting arm with a laterally extendingforward portion a ertured at its free end to form a vertical caring, anda curtain rod having a curved elbow portion disposed in a horizontalplane and extending beyond thefree end of said arm and a vertical pintledisposed inwardl curved elbow portion and engage with the bearingaperture of said arm.

5. In a curtain support, the combination I of a bracket having anattaching base and parallel horizontal forwardly pro ecting upper andlower arms having laterally extending forward portions formed at theirfree ends with alined verticalbearing apertures, and a curtain rodhaving a curved elbow portion disposed in a horizontal plane andextending beyond the free ends of said arms and a vertical pintledisposed inward- .ly of said curved elbow portion and mounted in thebearing apertures of said arms.

6. As a new article of manufacture, a 1

hollow round curtain rod formed with an integral rectangula'rly bentpintle, and provided with an internal coil spring constituting areinforcing mandrel located within the bend connecting the rod andintle.

7. As a new article of manu aeture, a round tubular swinging curtain rodformed with a hinge'pintle at one end, a knob having a shank tightlyfitted within the other end of said rod, said knob formed with a 125transverse aperture through its peripheral.

portion, and a depending chain having its uppermost link, engaged withsaid a erture'.

GRACE A. EFF RD. NELS S. ERICKSON.

of said 100

